Advance Review: Mighty Avengers #1

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Does Iron Man's team live up to its name?

By Richard George

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a second ongoing Avengers book, and it's a blast. I've been looking forward to this book for a while. When you mix Brian Bendis with Frank Cho and an inspired roster of smaller characters, you're bound to get something interesting. Though the action in this issue doesn't afford the chance to really become familiar with the team, the potential is clearly there.

Mighty Avengers #1 works through a pretty simple premise - the Avengers are selected and face their first major challenge. What is astonishing here is that Bendis manages to move through the roster selection, convey their basic information and personality, marshal them against a huge threat and leave us with a solid cliffhanger. No, Bendis doesn't have a brother. It's remarkable seeing the master of chit-chat manage one of the most tersely-worded, action-packed chapters I've seen in a while. Did Bendis and Millar switch bodies?

Bendis also changes another element of his writing. It almost didn't click to me because I was so used to them being gone - thought balloons. Having been eliminated for some five years now, it was incredibly jarring to see them return. The tempo of the conversation between Ms. Marvel and Iron Man was thrown off and my entire reading experience was shaken. Fortunately change can be a good thing and these additions are a lot of fun. The entire perspective of dialogue is changed a bit, but it is very effective. We're not getting a ton of exposition here, just quick instinctual thoughts that allow Bendis to let a character say one thing, mean another and not lose the reader in the process. Anyone complaining about the return of the balloons is just kidding themselves. This is the way they should have been used all along.

As I mentioned above, the roster is pretty intriguing. Iron Man and Wasp are pretty routine picks. Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man and Black Widow add a little zest. Sentry is a character that is often neglected. He was outright dull in the Civil War event (something Bendis even acknowledges in this issue) and aside from his arc early in New Avengers has generally done nothing. I really hope his potential is realized here.

And then there's Ares.

Granted, the brother of Hercules doesn't do too much in this issue. For the most part he tends to hack, slash and generally dismember creatures. However, almost sensing that the audience needs to understand how cool this character is, really allows him to shine during his "audition" for the team. The interaction between Tony Stark, Carol Danvers and Ares is excellent. Describing the son of Zeus as a mix between Thor and Wolverine is also a great snapshot. Various people within Marvel have mentioned that Ares will be one of the brightest stars in this series. Judging by what I've seen, I don't think that's an exaggeration. I just hope he's not overused like Wolverine has been.

Frank Cho pulls art duties for this issue. Anyone doubting Cho's talents in the non-babes departments can safely quiet down and hang their heads in shame. The artist not only delivers with some excellent action sequences, he does a great job with the increasingly-standard widescreen format that many are adopting. Of course Cho's females are as radiant as ever, and Brian Bendis deliberately inserts females where appropriate.

Mighty Avengers is off to a great start. The team seems to have fantastic chemistry and the roster is different enough from its sister title that I don't think there will be much repetition. Still, that is the biggest hurdle for Bendis to overcome. Mighty and New simply have to be different in order for both to be worthy purchases each and every month. I don't think it will be too big of a problem, but it's hard to say for certain right now.